| Rank | Team | Comments | Prior | |
| 1 |  | Alabama | Alabama stays on top of the rankings with a relatively easy win over Ole Miss. After a bye they head to Missouri. | 1 |
| 2 |  | LSU | It was a bit closer for a bit longer than many expected, but LSU beat Towson. The Swamp will be rocking this week. | 2 |
| 3 |  | Oregon | It will take a special effort to stop Oregon's offense. Washington State couldn't do it and Washington won't either. | 3 |
| 4 |  | Florida State | Many thought FSU would relax too much against USF. It wasn't always pretty, but the Seminoles won the game. | 4 |
| 5 |  | Georgia | Georgia held on to beat a fiesty Tennessee squad in an offensive shootout. A trip to South Carolina will be huge. | 5 |
| 6 |  | South Carolina | The Gamecocks got a game from Kentucky. They will have to play much, much better against Georgia on Saturday. | 6 |
| 7 |  | West Virginia | West Virginia won the expected shootout against Baylor last week. Let's see what happens against the Texas D. | 8 |
| 8 |  | Notre Dame | The Irish got a much needed week off, but the schedule never gets much easier. Miami is up next. | 9 |
| 9 |  | Ohio State | Ohio State held on to get a huge win at Michigan State. The tough Big Ten play continues against Nebraska. | 12 |
| 10 |  | Texas | Texas' gauntlet of tough games got off to a thrilling start as the Longhorns beat Oklahoma State 41-36. | 15 |
| 11 |  | Kansas State | The Wildcats got a well deserved week off. With Kansas and Iowa State up next, KSU could be 6-0. | 10 |
| 12 |  | Oklahoma | OU could have used that week off. With a trip to Texas Tech followed by the Red River Rivalry, it will get interesting. | 11 |
| 13 |  | Stanford | Stanford's offense could not get anything done against Washington on Thursday night. They better against Zona. | 7 |
| 14 |  | USC | USC is visiting Utah on Thursday night for the first time since 1917. Rice-Eccles will be rocking for this one. | 13 |
| 15 |  | Florida | Florida has looked good this year, but they will get a stern test against LSU on Saturday. | 14 |
| 16 |  | Clemson | Clemson's defense still has a lot of work to do, but the offense is living up to the hype with or without Watkins. | 16 |
| 17 |  | TCU | TCU let SMU hang around a lot longer than they should have, but the Horned Frogs came away with the victory. | 20 |
| 18 |  | Louisville | Louisville survived a rain soaked game at Southern Miss to remain undefeated. After a week off they head to Pitt. | 22 |
| 19 |  | Nebraska | Nebraska had a great come from behind victory against UW. A trip to OSU could reveal the Big Ten's best. | 24 |
| 20 |  | Oregon State | Oregon State hit the road and got a great win against a strong Arizona squad. The points will be flying against WSU. | 25 |
| 21 |  | Boise State | Boise let a 25 point halftime lead turn into a close game at New Mexico, but they did come away with the win. | 23 |
| 22 |  | UCLA | UCLA is back in business after cruising past Utah. The Bruins will look for another road win against Cal this week. | NR |
| 23 |  | Michigan | At 2-2, Michigan needs to start beating some quality opponents. A trip to Purdue is tough enough for now. | 21 |
| 24 |  | Mississippi State | Mississippi State will take their perfect 4-0 record on the road to face off against a surprisingly decent Kentucky. | NR |
| 25 |  | Michigan State | The Spartans held tough against OSU, but the ground game never got going. It will against Indiana this week. | 17 |
Week 5 Football Top 25 Rankings
Sat, 09/29/2012
